Lord Death's Dark Side
by silverfruit
Summary: Medusa and Arachne attacked openly, but what about letting Death City destroy itself? Welcome to a tale with new villains, a new Lord Death, and a whole lot of black blood...
1. Chapter 1

**_*silverfruit does not own Soul Eater in any way, shape, or form*_**

Lord Death's Dark Side

_**Chapter 1-Play Fight  
><strong>_

_CLANG_! The sound reverberated through the air. It was soon joined by Maka Albarn and Soul Eater's shouts of victory. "No fair!" gasped meister Dimitri as he let go of his sword and fell to the ground. "That's one score for us, which makes it...14-0 to us!" laughed Soul. The sword glowed and became a 14 year-old girl with shoulder length, pine-green hair and sapphire eyes. "What the heck, Soul!" weapon Natalya shouted, helping her meister to his feet. "Geez, Maka! Couldn't you give a pair of rookies a break?" shouted a winded Dimitri, brushing his mahogany bangs out of his chocolate eyes. Maka just laughed and said playfully "That's why it's called 'practice' and not 'pity' ". "That's it!" said Natalya surveying the park and spotting Black Star and Tsubaki sitting next to Death the Kid, Liz, and Patty. "Get up, Black Star" she said forcefully, "You and Tsubaki are going to fight us." "Come on, Nate! I'm tired" whined Dimitri, standing up and taking a fighting stance. "And I'm too lazy" complained Black Star. "Oh, Black Star! We've got to help them practice! They just came to the DWMA, so we need to make sure they get caught up!" scolded Tsubaki, dragging Black Star to his feet as he muttered "I'm too big for these beginners."

Nate glowed and turned into a silver sword with a sapphire encrusted hilt and flew into her meister's hands. "Remember to use your soul wavelength" shouted Maka from the bench. "And make the battle symmetrical this time!" yelled Kid as Liz and Patty rolled their eyes. Dimitri's exhaustion melted away and he grasped the sword tightly, looking determined. "Tsubaki! Chain scythe mode!" Black Star ordered and Tsubaki obeyed with a grin. Black Star grabbed one scythe in one hand and twirled the other lazily. "I'm too big to be beaten!" he laughed and charged at Dimitri and Nate. The crossed chain-scythe met the sword in a shower of sparks and both meisters pushed their weapons together and Nate's face appeared in the blade. "You're going down, Black Star!" Dimitri suddenly kicked upward, knocking the chain-scythe out of Black Star's hand. He tried to slash at Black Star, but he was too fast. He ran backward in the blink of an eye, caught Tsubaki, and blocked Dimitri's move. He pulled away and retreated, Black Star pushing him back. When it looked like he was about to strike,Dimitri blocked the chain-scythe with one hand and placed one hand on his shoulder grinned as his hand glowed green and shocked Black Star away from him, onto the ground. Black Star kicked himself upward, unfazed. He swiped at them and tangled the sword with Tsubaki's chain. He grinned as Dimitri struggled to extricate Nate from the chain. Black Star became a blur of motion as he took of running, dragging his opponents with , Dimitri and Nate were dizzy and tired. "Pull yourself together, Dimitri!" Nate yelled and a hand reached out of the sword and slapped him lightly on his face. Dimitri shook his head and looked up at Black Star, who was watching him. He panted and stumbled forward as Black Star began to laugh. Then, as fast as lightning, Dimitri darted forward and placed the cool blade on his neck. Kid and Liz applauded in a sophisticated manner while Maka, Soul, Liz and Patty cheered and danced. Nate transformed back to a human, and Dimitri dusted off his jeans. "We finally scored!" yelled Nate, her voice jubilant.

"It's late,"said Kid, standing up and gazing at the yellow moon, which gave him a gruesome smile."WAIT!" shouted Nate, grabbing Kid's tie, "We haven't fought you yet!". "Alright! A fight! We'll stay up all night! We'll kick your butts with all our might!" yelled Patty and she transformed into a pistol with a pink glow. Liz shot an irritated look at Nate, then transformed, too. Kid caught both of them and faced Dimitri with a look that plainly said 'Are you sure you want to do this?'. Nate grinned at Dimitri and transformed, her blade gleaming. Dimitri charged at Kid, dodging bullets with ease. He was about to strike, when Kid caught the sword between Liz and Patty and twisted. Dimitri grunted as his arm was turned sideways, and his sword skittered to the ground As he reached for it' Kid kicked it away. Kid laughed, but then looked around. Nate had not slid down the middle of the park as he had intended, but had landed 3mm away! Kid dropped to his knees and banged his fists on the ground, screaming "Asymmetrical garbage! I'm a complete failure!" "Kid! He's getting away!" screamed Liz as Dimitri escaped Kid's grasp and was running towards Nate. By the time Kid got up and shot at them, Dimitri gad swooped down, grabbed Nate, and jumped in front of Kid. He ducked as Dimitri swung the sword, and knocked his legs out from under him. Dimitri fell, rolled to avoid a bullet, and used the sword to push himself up. He twirled around Kid and batted his hands with the flat part of his sword. As he knocked Liz and Patty from Kid's hands, he kicked Kid in the chest. Kid fell and the point of the sword was at his chest. "Well done!" said Kid as Dimitri lifted the sword and helped him up. The three weapons transformed and Maka said "Let's get something to eat.". "Yeah,"Soul said, rubbing his stomach "starving is not cool."As they walked to a restaurant, Soul and Nate began arguing. "We beat you at least twice!" Nate told Soul, who was shaking his head. "That was when Maka tripped and fell!" replied Soul indignantly"Because WE knocked you down in the first place!" Dimitri cut in. "That's still 14-1, which means we won," said Maka"so you two still need a lot of practice."

By the time Kid found a symmetrical restaurant, it was 8:30 and Black Star was getting crabby. "I'm too big to be waiting around for you, you O.C.D. freak! Let's eat!" he yelled, bursting through the door. As soon as they sat down at a table, a young waitress in a red mini-dress sauntered up to them. "What can I get for you, cutie?" she asked, winking at Soul. Maka stood up quickly, giving the waitress a death glare and forcing her to back away as she stammered apologies. "Just take our order!" growled Black Star. In a while, the food came and Black Star shoved his face in his plate of spaghetti. Kid began ripping the mushrooms and olives out of his pizza and arranging them symmetrically. "JUST EAT IT!" Nate commanded, shoveling her salad into her mouth."Yeah, Kid," said Liz "you need to let it go. It's getting late and there's school tomorrow." "Hey!" said Soul, suddenly, pointing across the restaurant, "There's Stein and Spirit! I wonder what they're doing here?". "Eating, of course!" laughed Dimitri. "You don't understand," said Maka, looking curious, "My dad _HATES _Stein." "Listen..." said Nate, her fork halfway to her mouth.

"...obtained the black blood somehow," Stein was saying, his dinner untouched. "But where would she find it?" asked Spirit, "Medusa has been dead for months and Crona said he went back and searched her hideout, but didn't find anything.". "_Keep your voice down!_" hissed Stein, looking directly at the students, "And besides, she has her ways.". "But we're not even sure she even exists yet," whispered Spirit, "Lord Death doesn't even know!". Stein stood up abruptly, saying, "We'll soon see who's right" as he left. Nate turned back to her friends with a grin. "Well,well,well...it seems we have some snooping to do!" she said,sneakily.


	2. Chapter 2

_**silverfruit does not own soul eater in any way, shape, or form**_

_**Chapter 2-Soul Resonance, Sort Of**_

"Thus, using soul resonance can boost the meister's power and, in most cases, change the form of the weapon so that the pair becomes able to defeat more powerful adversaries," said Professor Stein in a monotone voice as he swiveled in his chair to face the class. Dimitri, Nate, and the others were sitting in the Crescent Moon class, scribbling notes about soul resonance as Stein lectured. "Maka, Soul, please come down to demonstrate," said Stein abruptly, his glasses flashing as he looked up at them. "But I'm the big man, shouldn't I demonstrate?" asked an indignant Black Star. Stein ignored him, which took practice. Maka and Soul walked down the rows of desks, Maka looking slightly surprised. "Now," said Stein, "watch closely. If you pay attention, you can feel their soul wavelengths merging and becoming stronger.".

The class watched as Soul transformed and flew into Maka's outstretched hand. "Ready, Soul? SOUL RESONANCE!" shouted Maka, calmly. Soul began to glow, and his blade elongated into an iridescent crescent moon shape, with Soul's eye in the middle. The class could almost feel the power emanating from the pair. "How come we can't do that?" Nate whispered to her meister, who grinned."Because your souls are not in sync ," said Stein, who appeared in front of their row, "but I'd love to see you try.". He walked back to the front of the class, and told Maka and Soul to take their seats. As Soul transformed, he waved to a section of the class, where the girls were winking and smiling at him. He stopped when Maka shot him a stern look.

"Natalya, Dimitri! Let's see you try to resonate. Class, I want you to watch them and answer a few questions after their demonstration. You two, try your hardest to give me an entertaining performance. Remember, this is a skill which you must master in order to start obtaining evil souls," announced Stein, as Dimitri and Nate reluctantly walked down to take Maka and Soul's place in the spotlight. The class watched as Nate glowed and morphed into her sword form. "How do we do this?" asked Nate, her reflection appearing in the blade. "Figure it out," said Stein, lazily leaning back in his chair. Dimitri was hyperventilating, and he grasped the hilt a bit too tightly. "Ummmm..."said Dimitri, "Any ideas?" "I thought you knew what to do!" shouted Nate. "You and I both know that I never know what to do!" he argued back."Well think of something!" she said, sounding panicked. "Okay. Follow my lead I think I have an idea" he said, hesitantly. He took a deep breath and began to project his soul wavelength to Nate. The pair glowed green, and she asked "Is it working?" hopefully. Suddenly, she was ripped from Dimitri's hands as they were blown apart by their own souls. They hit opposite walls, and slid to the ground as Stein stood up from his chair and faced the class.

"Now, can you tell me what went wrong?" he asked the class, as the two recovered and took their seats, looking flustered. "Their souls were matched because they were both arguing, and panicking and don't know how to control their wavelengths yet," said Maka, stifling a laugh. "Very good, Maka. Their souls need to be somewhat different in order to complement each other. Soul resonance happens when the meister and weapon pass soul wavelengths back and forth until they become one and their power is raised tenfold," said Stein. The bell rang, and everyone slid their books into their bags and hurried to get away before they were dissected. "Dimitri, Natalya, can you both come here for a few minutes?" Stein called. "Good luck," Liz whispered as she walked past them.

"I'm going to give you both a short test and lesson. Natalya, transform," ordered Stein, and she complied. "Now," he said, as he opened the classroom door, "here are your opponents. Fight them,". Ox Ford and Harvar D. Éclair emerged from the doorway. "We're fighting these two rookies? Okay then!" said Harvar, transforming into a jagged spear. "Let's go!"said Nate, her face appearing in the blade. Ox charged at them, the end of his spear sparking with electricity. Dimitri slashed at the pole, knocking it away. He put his hand on Ox's chest and shocked him away. He was thrown on the ground, then he leaped into the air, twisting to avoid the sword. He grabbed Harvar and jabbed at Dimitri. "He's coming to your left, block!" yelled Nate, and Dimitri raised the sword to block the spear. OX grinned and yelled "Now, Harvar! Soul Resonance!". Electricity flowed through the shaft of the spear. "ROYAL THUNDER!" yelled Ox, and Nate screamed as Harvar shocked her. "I'll get you for that!" said Dimitri, leaning forward and shocking Ox again, "Now, why don't we try it, too. Soul Resonance!". "Alright! Here we go!" said Nate, concentrating. Their souls expanded, becoming a blue dome with emerald spikes. Then, they were blasted apart again, and hit the wall. "Thank you, Ox and Harvar," said Stein, "though that wasn't much of a fight. You may go.". As Harvar transformed, he muttered "losers" and walked out with Ox. Stein motioned the two over to his desk, and they complied.

"You two remain the only ones in the DWMA who can't resonate yet," said Stein. "We're trying out hardest, professor. We've even been having practice fights every night for three weeks! I can use my soul wavelength in fights now and I can use my sword to do substantial damage," said Dimitri, looking ashamed. "If you cannot resonate by the end of the month, you will be forced to take remedial lessons with me," Stein continued. "WHAT!" yelped Nate, turning pale. "Furthermore," said Stein, talking over Nate's voice, "you will have to leave your regular classes to practice, and it will be on weekends, too. If you still cannot resonate, you will have to separate and leave the DWMA until you find different partners.". Ignoring the astonished looks on their faces, Stein leaned back in his chair and wheeled himself out of the room .


	3. Chapter 3

_***Silverfruit does not own soul eater in any way ,shape, or form***_

_pairings are...screw pairings-you'll figure it out_

_**Chapter 3-Flashback**_

"You can't get expelled!" Patty wailed, "You two make such a good pair, even if your resonance skills are awful! It's so tragic! I thought you mould make your weapon a death scythe, and then marry her! ". The nine students were sitting on one of the landings of the stairs at the front of the DWMA, right after Nate and Dimitri's talk with Stein. "Wait, what!" said Dimitri, "I'm NOT in love with Nate, and I definitely won't let us get separated," he said, with conviction. "We need to start practicing, now," said Nate, standing up, "Come on, guys.". They all stood up, except for Maka. "Soul, can I talk to you for a second?" she asked, walking back up the stairs. Soul followed, and Nate looked up at him questioningly. ''I don't know" he mouthed, and Nate turned around and began arguing with Black Star about the fact that her and Dimitri were _not _in love.

"What!" said Soul, sounding exasperated. "They'll never be able to do it," Maka said bleakly. "What are you talking about?" yelled Soul. "Soul resonance; they can't do it. The difference between their wavelengths is too great. And practice might not help. Plus, only a meister who's at Stein's level could change their wavelength and it's not exactly something you could teach," she explained, "And even if they did learn, it would take months, and they only have a week!". "Well, giving up is not cool. We've got to help them, no matter how hopeless it may seem," Soul said, and with that, he walked down after the others, leaving Maka to follow.

By the time Maka and Soul joined the others, Dimitri and Nate were bruised and worn out. "You've tried 47 times, and you still can't resonate!" said Kid, looking frustrated, "It's a totally asymmetrical number!". Nate sat against a tree and hugged her knees. "Face it," she said, "we haven't been able to resonate and we never will be.". "That's not true," said Tsubaki encouragingly, "It's getting late, we'll practice more tomorrow. Let's have dinner at our place tonight.". "Come on," said Dimitri, extending a hand to her. "You and I are a great team. No one can insult Black Star like you can, and together we've gotten 42 souls. We'll show Professor Stein. We can do it." he said Slowly, she took it and Black Star said "I'll race you home!". "You're on" said Nate, and they all ran home (Kid won because he sensed that things in Black Star's house were asymmetrical ).

Tsubaki laid a silver dome on the table, to a loud scream of "YAY! Dessert!". She revealed a cake adorned with roses. "So," she said to Dimitri and Nate after everyone had gotten a slice of cake, "tell me a story about how you came to be partners.". "You think we're going to get lucky this time? Like they're going to tell us," said Liz, looking hopeful all the same. "Sure, why not," said Nate, looking to Dimitri. He nodded, having a staring match with Soul over the last slice of cake. "Well," she began, "I was pretty young at the time- five or six maybe. My mom(a meister) and my dad( her weapon) were out of town, and they wouldn't have been much help anyway. I pissed off a couple of bullies after school, who started to chase me around town. We left town, and I was still yelling insults at them. They cornered me by separating and doubling back. They were standing in a circle and closing in, when my arm suddenly turned into a sword blade. I didn't know what the heck was going on, so I just slashed in a big arc. They were pretty surprised, but not as much as I was. Then, to make matters worse, I turned into a full sword and just laid there, still not knowing what to do. Then, the curious idiots picked me up, took me into town, and tried to sell me.". "No way!" said Maka, looking astonished. "Yeah, so I just waited around for someone to buy me..Then, one day, my parents came to town. By then, I knew that I could make my face appear in the blade. So when they walked by, I yelled to them. They just ignored me. Can you believe that!"she said.

By now, Dimitri had finished his cake and was ready to help Nate tell the story. "Then, a very handsome, young, cool, smart-hey!" he said, as Kid gave him a look that plainly said 'yeah, right'. "Well, I happened to see a _very _ pretty sword on display. She kept on yelling insults at me, but somehow, I felt like it was meant to be. So, I bought her. My parents almost didn't let me. They really wanted me to be a weapon, so it was hard for them to believe that I wanted a sword." he said, laughing. "Yeah," said Nate, "they hated me, I could tell. But, they couldn't ignore the fact that Dimitri had gotten really comfortable using a sword.". "So," he continued, "they sent us off to the DWMA. Then we met you, and you know the rest. ". "Wow," said Liz, "That's pretty cool! You guys made such a good couple, even then.". Both Nate and Dimitri began telling her how wrong she was, and Maka cut in, saying she agreed...with Liz. "Enough!" said Kid from across the room, tilting a portrait of Black Star slightly to the left. He walked back to the table and said, "We should be talking about practice tomorrow.". "Right," said Nate, "At the break of dawn, we'll start, and we'll practice our hardest. Thanks so much for helping us, guys.". They spent the rest of the night relaxing, and everyone was in a good mood. Little did they know that this would be their last peaceful night.


	4. Chapter 4

_***silverfruit does not own soul eater in any way, shape, or form***_

**Chapter 4- Test**

"Today's the day of Nate and Dimitri's test!" sang Patty as she skipped up the steps to the DWMA. "Let's not get too excited, Patty" said Liz, in her usual effort to suppress her sister's hyperactivity. "you might jinx it.". "Are you guys ready?" said Tsubaki, "Don't you want to practice one more time?''. "No, I think we can do it," said Dimitri, "Don't you, Nate?". She climbed a little faster, not saying a word. "Look, I know you're nervous, but not speaking won't do you any good," said Dimitri, "We'll be fine. There's nothing to worry about.". He turned to block her way and put his hands on her shoulders, looking down into her eyes. "We, as in you and I, are going to do great. There's all there is to it. And even if we fail, you and I will still be best friends. Not even Sir Scalpel can change that, got it?". She looked up and gave him a small smile. "We're here," said Kid, gazing at the sign that said 'Class Crescent Moon'. The door was the only thing that obstructed the path toward supreme success, or utter failure.

"Well," said Dimitri, nudging Nate gently. She looked up at him, all the dejection gone from her face. She kicked the door open and stepped inside, climbing the stairs as the rest of the class filed into their seats. There was no usual conversation or laughter, only anxious looks and whispers of 'I wonder who they're going to battle'. As soon as the bell rang, Dr. Stein wheeled into the room, followed by a familiar dark figure. "Hello, hello!" said Lord Death, waving his huge hand. "Settle down..." murmured Stein, but it was enough to shut up the whole class. "Lord Death is here to watch the test of our newest meister and weapon pair. I would like you to pay attention to their fight. It should be interesting. "

The others withed Nate and Dimitri luck, then marched to their seats. "You two will be fighting..." Stein said as he swung the door open to reveal...Crona. She was wearing her usual black dress and nervous grin, and the class gasped. "Sword versus sword..." said Stein, ''It would only be fair. Dimitri, Natalya, I hope you're ready. Remember...if you can't resonate, you will be suspended until you both find partners you can resonate with." There was a loud intake of breath from the class as the stakes were announced. Dimitri took a deep breath of his own, and the battle commenced.

**well, i guess this is where i leave you...it had to end this way**

**Soul: Not cool!**

**Dimitri and Nate: We were about to fight!**

**Me: I had to end it...but don't worry...I'll be back..**

**Crona: I can't deal with cliffhangers! No fair!**

**Me: You'll see...*devious grin***


	5. Chapter 5

_***silverfruit does not own soul eater in any way, shape, or form***_

Chapter 5- What Now?

**Nate's POV**

As I was ripped from my partner's hands and stabbed into the ground, I knew it was all over. I morphed back into a human, and saw Dimitri extricating himself from a broken bookcase. Crona turned to me, her stormy eyes pleading for forgiveness. The outcome had been clear as soon as we tried to resonate, with the familiar sense of being blasted apart physically and with our souls. The rest of the class blurred, leaving me completely alone. My partner was gone now, and I had no clue what to do. The bell rang and the class escaped, but I remained, unable to flee from my fate. "Come into my office, both of you," said Death's voice, sounding more serious than normal. "You too, Stein.""Okay," said Dimitri, gathering his things. He passed my bag to me, without meeting my gaze. I was glad; I didn't want to face his disappointment, though I was sure he'd blame it on himself. We followed them across the grounds toward the Death Room, looking everywhere but at each other.

"Sit down and have some coffee," said Lord Death, and we kneeled on the other side of the table, "We're going to discuss the new plan of action. You two, despite being among the better fighters in the class, are unable to resonate. Your souls are too alike, so they won't merge. It's almost like pushing the north ends of two magnets together. They repel each other. Unfortunately, you two cannot remain partners. " I counted 43 knots in the wood and 156 bubbles in my coffee before I looked up again. We both nodded gloomily. "Therefore, you must leave the school. I am sorry, but I will have to confiscate the souls, but I will have to confiscate the souls you have collected. You may be re-admitted to the school when you find new partners. Until then, toodle-oo!" He waved his flat hands, and Stein showed us out.

**Dimitri's POV**

It was almost like I didn't know her anymore. I did not look at her, speak to her, or even think about her. If I did, I would have yelled at her or hit her or something. I was angry. She was she brainiac, why couldn't _she_ figure it out? Now, she would play the victim; act discouraged or whatever. I could not, no, I would not forgive her. She didn't look apologetic at all! Couldn't she just admit she had a problem? Then we could fix it and show Lord Death and remain partners. But wait...did I want her back in the first place? If we failed together, didn't that mean it wasn't meant to be? no, we had always had fun together. She was always nice to me, always wanted to help. She's a great fighter and she always defended me...oh crap! Did she _like_ me? It made sense: she always smiled around me. Well, we had to split up. A clean break. No hard feelings. Wait, yes hard feelings. I realized that when I got home, my parents would kill me, and find me a partner. I shuddered, predicting who they would pick right away. What kind of a friend was she, letting that happen to me? I was angry all over again. Wait, did Stein just say something? "Yes!" I said automatically. We had made it to the steps of Shibusen, the sun overhead being the only smiling entity."Good, in that case, I will leave you two here to say your goodbyes. Make it quick," he intoned. I winced at his harsh tone. "You will have to move out of your house. If and when you decide to come back, we will give you a different place to stay. Be out of Death city in three hours. Good day," he finished and left.

She stood there for a while, and I wondered if she could read my agitated expression, but she was scrutinizing her shoes. The awkwardness was almost tangible. "Well now what?" she said finally, still not looking at me. I took a deep breath and tried to keep my voice level. "Well, since _you_ failed, I get a month of grounding and some creepy person for a new partner," I said. "_I_ failed? I thought we were in this together. I thought we were friends!" she said. I finally saw her azure eyes, suddenly imbued with exasperation and something I had never seen on her face: hatred. "But I guess you have better things to worry about than me!" her contempt-filled words pierced me with even more rage. "So for you, friendship means failing the one you care about? I wish I was never your friend!" the words fell out before I could stop them. She froze in mid-retort, then her fiery gaze became cold and resentful. "Fine," she said, "Let me make that easier for you." Maka and the others arrived in time to see her turn her head and march off.

**Nate's POV**

"Fine," I said, monitoring our friends' approach. I had no desire to talk to anyone in Death City. My main goal was to get out of there as quickly as possible. "Let me make that easier for you," I said bitterly and walked away before I hurt somebody. I walked rapidly, breathing hard and trying to control my anger. How could he blame this on me? I thought we were a team, and that we would never hurt each other. I thought he was the only one who knew what I truly was. Well, Nate, I thought to myself, That'll teach you to not trust people. I felt the beginnings of a tear in the corner of my eye, then shook my head to clear it. I would not waste my tears on him: he didn't deserve it. I packed up my things in a state of forced calm. Soon, I was surrounded by three large boxes. Home was quite far away and everything in Death City was walking distance. I did not have a car, nor the desire to rent one. I was stuck. "Do you need a ride home?" inquired a voice from the doorway. Had I been so preoccupied that I had left the door open? Turning around, I saw the remains of our door and the person I had least expected: Black Star. "Yeah, I figured since you can't drive and..." he trailed off. "Did Tsub-" I started to ask, but he cut me off. "No, she didn't. She doesn't even know I'm here." he said, and I hoped he did not regret his decision. "And I didn't want you to be alone after..." he said, looking down. This was definitely not the Black Star I knew. "So come on already!" he yelled, bending down to pick up one of the boxes. That was more like it. "Thanks, Black Star," I said gratefully, and picked up another box. "Just don't expect us to do nothing if you decide not to come back," he replied, as we walked out of the house together.


	6. Chapter 6

_***silverfruit does not own soul eater in any way, shape, or form***_

Chapter 6- Separated

**Dimitri's POV**

I could not believe my eyes. She looked so different. It been forever since I came home, so naturally I wouldn't remember her, but this was unnatural. "You're back!" she squealed, as my parents looked on approvingly. I hugged her awkwardly. She was my childhood friend who had a crush on me, and I ditched her for my former partner. What was I supposed to do? "Umm... hello, Eve..." I said, disentangling myself from her tight arms. "You sound so formal!" she exclaimed, wrinkling her nose in fake disgust. "Of course, I guess this is because of _her_! But, that's okay, I forgive you. We can't be fighting if we're going to be new partners!''. I nodded, resigned to my fate. At least she wouldn't fail me, careless as she may seem. "Fighting stance! Ready?" she said suddenly, glowing purple. A spiked club whirled through the air. I had to admit, it was pretty cool. Her face appeared, wrapped around one of the spikes. "That's awesome!" I said, smiling. She transformed back, and hugged me again. "Give me a minute," I told her, and she nodded. I walked back to my parents, who were standing in the doorway to our house. "Thanks," I told them, and they nodded. "Now you regret running off with that sword," my dad chided. I opened my mouth with a response, but strangely, there wasn't one.

**Nate's POV**

The drive was long and awkward. Black Star kept his eyes on the road and his mouth shut tight, and I wasn't keen on starting a conversation. Despite the silence, however, the car was filled with unspoken consolations and thanks. "It's too damn quiet!" he said suddenly, and turned on the radio. _"Here comes the sun, and I say, it's alright''_ it sang loudly. "I didn't know you like the Beatles," I said, grateful for the sound. "Who doesn't?" he said. The air was finally penetrated with words and for the first time since the fight, I felt a smile returning to my face. The sky burned, then blackened into night. Black Star was actually pleasant, once I got past his pride. "You know," he said, turning down the volume to "Brain Damage" and looking at me. "We never did investigate on that black blood-" "Crap!" I exclaimed, sitting up and choking myself with the seat belt, "Who knows what they figured out about the black blood in that time?" "_The lunatic is in my head"_ the radio whispered. "Well, it might be-" he said, then his eyes went wide. He swerved off the road and into a patch of withered grass. "Get out of the car!" he yelled. "What?" I said completely bewildered. Would he betray me too? He tore off my seat belt and pushed me out, just as a claw impaled the roof of the car and scratched the seat I was in. I stood up and saw Black Star next to me. "Run!" he said as he clenched his fists and glared at the kishin crouched on the top of the car.

**Dimitri's POV**

I was in my old room, lying on my bed and gazing around at the posters and curtains that time had never met. The words were still on my computer screen from the e-mail I had opened moments before. _"You may be readmitted to the school. You and your partner may come in two days' time" _. I would bring Eve to the school, then take the test for entry that I had taken 10 months ago with Nate. I felt a surge of anger at the thought. I dug through my pocket and pulled out a crumpled note. _"I left your clothes in your room and packed up whatever else was there. Goodbye. -Nate"_ I balled it up and stuffed it into my pocket. I definitely did not want to think about Nate, so I spent the rest of the evening failing miserably while thinking about where she was going and when I would see her again. "Hey Demi!" trilled a voice, and Eve bounded up the stairs and into my room. I was surprised to hear the nickname she had given me when we were kids and spent our days crawling under hedges to meet each other. Then, I met Nate when we were traveling, and Eve had been so upset, and didn't talk to me until I left, despite Nate's efforts to cheer her up. Then, we met our first kishin, and everything changed. Eve finally talked to me as we left for the DWMA. "Goodbye," she had said. "I thought we were going for a walk!" she said now, pulling me up from the bed. The note fell out of my pocket, and she stooped to catch it. "Here," she said, unfolding it and holding it out to me. As I reached for it, I saw her eyes rapidly moving across it. When my hand was inches from it, she snatched it away. "Why are you keeping this!" she said loudly, eyeing me suspiciously. "I couldn't find the trash can on the train," I replied, hoping she didn't hear the lies intertwined with my words. "Whatever," she said, pasting a smile back o her face. "You said you wanted to walk around town, since you haven't been here for a while. Remember, were leaving to the DWMA day after tomorrow!" she said, grabbing my hand. I saw her hand flick towards the wastepaper bin on her way out.

**Nate's POV**

Black Star was standing in front of me now, glaring at the drooling kishin. With a mangled snarl that never could have belonged to a former human, it leaped at us. Then, I had an idea. Jumping on Black Star's back, I transformed my arm into a sword blade and kicked off of Black Star. I aimed it at the kishin, but only managed to graze its arm. It howled at the moon(now normal), then turned its glowing red eyes on me. "You're stealing my spotlight!" Black Star sputtered from behind it, attracting its attention. "You don't have a weapon!" I reminded him, charging at the kishin's back. "So?" he asked, landing a perfectly timed punch and sending it flying into my sword blade. Growling, it peeled itself away. "Why won't you die!" I yelled, jumping to avoid a set of claws and twisting to avoid another. I lopped off three of its claws, earning another yell and slash. This time, the remaining claws found their mark, and they sent me stumbling down. "I will eat your soul!" it hissed. I rolled to the side and stabbed upward, finally killing it. As Black Star hurried over to me, the dying kishin took on the shape of a large red soul. He helped me up, and I took the soul in my hands and gulped it down. I looked back at Black Star, who had his eyes scrunched closed. "What's wrong? Did it hurt you?" I asked, then doubled over in pain. My shirt had been torn open, to reveal three long scratches. With his eyes still closed, he took off his black tank top and handed it to me. "Thanks, you can open now," I said, fitting the oversized neck over my head. He burst out laughing. "It's huge!" he guffawed. "So now what?" I asked, looking at the remains of the roof of the car. "I'm taking you back to the DWMA," he said, lifting me in his strong arms. "Why?" I asked, my eyelids growing heavy. "I still haven't found a partner." "You don't need one," he told me," You can become a Death Scythe without a meister. A guy named Justin Law did it when he was only thirteen. They have to let you. You may not be star material, but you're a worthy backup. Let's go.". A breeze blew through the night, and I realized how warm and muscular Black Star's skin was. No, no, no. I couldn't fall for this again. No, no, no, I thought to myself as I fell asleep under the moon, slowly regaining its morbid grin.

**Nate: YAY! I'm the lone wolf, going solo! Finally!**

**Dimitri: You're just jealous...**

**Nate: Are you kidding me? And what's with the old music?**

**Me: Lots of people like the Beatles! It was the song I was listening to for inspiration!**

**Dimitri: Whatever... see you next time!**


End file.
